There have been disclosed manufacturing methods of an inkjet recording head using nano-imprinting lithography and similar techniques, which are described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-198779, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-176076, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,479.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-198779 discusses a manufacturing method of an inkjet recording head, in which firstly, a resin film and a mold member (master mold) having protrusions are heated, and the resin film is pressed against the mold member to form through-holes in the resin film. Subsequently, the resin film is laminated, as an orifice plate, onto a substrate where ink discharge energy generating elements and an ink flow path are formed, thereby manufacturing an inkjet recording head.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-176076 discusses a manufacturing method of an inkjet recording head, in which firstly, a master mold having protrusions is pressed against a substrate on which surface two types of resin are laminated to the extent that the protrusions of the master mold penetrate an upper layer resin to form through-holes in the resin constituting the upper layer. Subsequently, the resin forming the upper-layer is laminated, as an orifice plate, onto a substrate where an ink flow path and ink discharge energy generating elements are formed, thereby manufacturing an inkjet recording head.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,479 discusses a manufacturing method of an inkjet recording head, in which firstly, an insert (master mold) having protrusions corresponding to a pattern of an ink flow path and discharge ports are formed is pressed against a resin to thereby form an ink flow path and discharge ports in the resin. Subsequently, the resin is laminated onto a substrate on which surface ink discharge energy generating elements are formed, thereby manufacturing an inkjet recording head.
In the manufacturing method of an inkjet recording head described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-198779 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-176076, the thickness of an orifice plate is defined by the thickness of the resins, and thus it is easy to control the thickness of the orifice plate. Both of the methods, however, require a step of bonding the manufactured orifice plate to the substrate having the ink flow path wall and ink discharge energy generating elements manufactured by some method. In this bonding step, highly accurate control of registration is required for the ink discharge energy generating elements and ink flow path which are formed in the substrate to the ink discharge ports formed in the orifice plate.
Meanwhile, in the manufacturing method of an inkjet recording head described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,479, the orifice plate and the ink flow path are formed into one integral unit, and the accuracy of registration of the ink discharge ports and ink flow path is defined only by the mold. It is however essential to bond the orifice plate to the substrate having ink discharge energy generating elements. Accordingly, this manufacturing method has a problem similar to those of the manufacturing methods of an inkjet recording head described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-198779 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-176076.